ENHANCE-D: protocol for a pragmatic, 3-arm, randomised controlled trial comparing the impact of enhanced smoking cessation interventions to very brief advice for adult smokers in dental care settings.

Background: Smoking is a key contributor to health inequalities, particularly impacting oral health. Periodontal (gum) health is significantly affected by smoking. With their extensive reach, regular and frequent patient contact, and potential teachable moments, dental teams are well placed to support patients to stop smoking.

Social accountability in undergraduate dental education: A narrative review.

Background: Social accountability relates to the obligation of a health professional school to align education, research, and services with community health priorities. Limited research has examined the role of social accountability in dental education and its potential for addressing oral health inequalities.

Aim: The aim of this narrative review is to describe current research of relevance to social accountability in dental education and identify gaps in the literature.

Delivering smoking cessation interventions in NHS primary dental care - lessons from the ENHANCE-D trial.

Introduction Smoking is a major contributor to health inequalities in the UK. The ENHANCE-D trial is evaluating three smoking cessation interventions (nicotine replacement therapy [NRT], electronic cigarettes [ECs] or 'very brief advice') delivered in NHS primary dental care. This qualitative study aimed to provide insight into the factors that could influence the adoption of the interventions in these settings.

Dental behaviour support: can we improve qualitative research on patient experience?

Data Sources: Databases included Embase, Medline (via OVID) and PsycINFO (via EBSCO). Studies referenced within included review articles were additionally screened for relevance.

Study Selection: This review focused upon qualitative research studies and their use of dental behaviour support (DBS) tools to support dental care.

Specialists' management of permanent dentition traumatic dental injuries in 7-16-year-olds: A qualitative study.

Background/aim: Specialist paediatric dentists are integral to dental trauma care pathways. General dentists rely on specialist input, more so in complex cases. Little is known about specialists' role in these pathways or the perceived barriers they face.

Is food insecurity associated with dental caries?

Data Sources: Eight electronic databases including APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase, LILACS, PubMed, Ovid, Scopus and Web of Science were searched from date of inception to November 2021. An updated search was conducted in August 2022. Google Scholar was accessed including Open Grey and ProQuest.

Evaluation of student-perceived competence of interprofessional working in Gerodontology.

Objective: To evaluate pharmacy, dental and dental therapy undergraduate students' perceived competence of interprofessional working before and after attending an interprofessional education (IPE) Gerodontology workshop.

Background: Whilst there is international recognition of the importance of collaboration between the dental profession and systemic healthcare providers to enhance patient care, there remains a paucity of research into IPE in Gerodontology.

Materials And Methods: Pharmacy, dental and dental therapy undergraduate students attended a 2-hour Gerodontology case-based workshop.

Transatlantic engagement: a novel dental educational exchange.

Introduction Newcastle University School of Dental Sciences (NUSDS) and Indiana University School of Dentistry in the United States of America (IUSD) are like-minded institutions committed to civic engagement. Over the last 15 years, both universities have built civic engagement into the dental curricula, however each institution operates within significantly different healthcare systems.Aim Co-development of unique collaborative dental education; the first UK/US educational exchange programme engaged with the dental student community.

Development and retention of the dental workforce: findings from a regional workforce survey and symposium in England.

Background: To help promote a flexible and sustainable workforce in dentistry, it is necessary to access accurate and timely data about the structure and nature of the evolving dental team. This paper considers the results and learning from a region-wide dental workforce survey conducted in one area of Health Education England and how the team has changed since the last survey a decade earlier.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach comprised two phases.

Children and parents' perspectives on the acceptability of three management strategies for dental caries in primary teeth within the 'Filling Children's Teeth: Indicated or Not' (FiCTION) randomised controlled trial - a qualitative study.

Background: The Filling Children's Teeth: Indicated Or Not? (FiCTION) randomised controlled trial (RCT) aimed to explore the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of managing dental caries in children's primary teeth. The trial compared three management strategies: conventional caries management with best practice prevention (C + P), biological management with best practice prevention (B + P) and best practice prevention alone (PA)-based approaches. Recently, the concept of treatment acceptability has gained attention and attempts have been made to provide a conceptual definition, however this has mainly focused on adults.

Dental professionals' experiences of managing children with carious lesions in their primary teeth - a qualitative study within the FiCTION randomised controlled trial.

Background: The lack of evidence for the effective management of carious lesions in children's primary teeth has caused uncertainty for the dental profession and patients. Possible approaches include conventional and biological management alongside best practice prevention, and best practice prevention alone. The FiCTION trial assessed the effectiveness of these options, and included a qualitative study exploring dental professionals' (DPs) experiences of delivering the different treatment arms.

Brain Myelin Water Fraction and Diffusion Tensor Imaging Atlases for 9-10 Year-Old Children.

Background And Purpose: Myelin water imaging (MWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provide information about myelin and axon-related brain microstructure, which can be useful for investigating normal brain development and many childhood brain disorders. While pediatric DTI atlases exist, there are no pediatric MWI atlases available for the 9-10 years old age group. As myelination and structural development occurs throughout childhood and adolescence, studies of pediatric brain pathologies must use age-specific MWI and DTI healthy control data.

Best-practice prevention alone or with conventional or biological caries management for 3- to 7-year-olds: the FiCTION three-arm RCT.

Background: Historically, lack of evidence for effective management of decay in primary teeth has caused uncertainty, but there is emerging evidence to support alternative strategies to conventional fillings, which are minimally invasive and prevention orientated.

Objectives: The objectives were (1) to assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three strategies for managing caries in primary teeth and (2) to assess quality of life, dental anxiety, the acceptability and experiences of children, parents and dental professionals, and caries development and/or progression.

Design: This was a multicentre, three-arm parallel-group, participant-randomised controlled trial.

Meeting the needs of patients with disabilities: how can we better prepare the new dental graduate?

Background Over the last two decades, the introduction of equality legislation has resulted in disabled people having improved opportunities and better access to services. Within the field of oral health care, the specialty of special care dentistry exists to act as an advocate for those with disabilities and it is recognised that there is a need to reduce health inequalities. To ensure the future dental workforce is able to respond to the needs of those with disabilities, education is key.

A Pilot Study to Assess Feasibility of Lay Representation in Dental School Admissions Interviews.

Regulatory bodies in the dental profession often include members of the public as a way to ensure that patient interests are represented. With student selection for admission to dental school being a multifaceted, highly competitive process, this study was motivated by curiosity about the value of involving members of the public in the admissions process. At Newcastle University School of Dental Sciences, UK, semi-structured selection interviews conducted by two members of the faculty staff are part of the process.

Obtaining patient feedback for quality assurance of undergraduate dental teaching.

Introduction In order to achieve the educational standards of the General Dental Council, providers of UK dental education programmes are required to demonstrate that feedback from patients is collected and used to inform programme development. Aims To determine areas of undergraduate dental training programmes that patients feel able to comment upon, allowing development of a patient feedback questionnaire. Methods Patients receiving treatment from undergraduate students were recruited to focus groups (n = 5, n = 6) where their experience of receiving student care was explored.

Resource allocation in NHS dentistry: recognition of societal preferences (RAINDROP): study protocol.

Background: Resources in any healthcare systems are scarce relative to need and therefore choices need to be made which often involve difficult decisions about the best allocation of these resources. One pragmatic and robust tool to aid resource allocation is Programme Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA), but there is mixed evidence on its uptake and effectiveness. Furthermore, there is also no evidence on the incorporation of the preferences of a large and representative sample of the general public into such a process.

Insufficient evidence for the role of school dental screening in improving oral health.

Data sourcesThe Cochrane Oral Health's Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline, Embase, the US National Institutes of Health Trials Registry (ClinicalTrials.gov) and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform databases.Study selectionRandomised controlled trials (cluster or parallel) evaluating school dental screening compared with no intervention or with one type of screening compared with another were included.

Tooth brushing frequency and risk of new carious lesions.

Data sourcesMedline, Embase, CINHAL and the Cochrane databases.Study selectionTwo reviewers selected studies, and case-control, prospective cohort, retrospective cohort and experimental trials evaluating the effect of toothbrushing frequency on the incidence or increment of new carious lesions were considered.Data extraction and synthesisTwo reviewers undertook data abstraction independently using pre-piloted forms.

Psychology of behaviour change is key to effective oral health promotion.

Data sourcesAMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, ScienceDirect, SocINDEX, ASSIA, Social Policy and Practice, HMIC (Health Management Information Consortium), The Knowledge Network, Intute, MedNar, Copac, EPPI-Centre, EThOS, OpenGrey and TRIP databases. Searches were limited to publications in the English language published after 1994.Study selectionStudies set in general practice that investigated promoting good oral health in adult or child patients were considered.

Learning from contract change in primary care dentistry: A qualitative study of stakeholders in the north of England.

The aim of this research was to explore and synthesise learning from stakeholders (NHS dentists, commissioners and patients) approximately five years on from the introduction of a new NHS dental contract in England. The case study involved a purposive sample of stakeholders associated with a former NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) in the north of England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 commissioners of NHS dental services and 5 NHS general dental practitioners.

Solution-based circuits enable rapid and multiplexed pathogen detection.

Electronic readout of markers of disease provides compelling simplicity, sensitivity and specificity in the detection of small panels of biomarkers in clinical samples; however, the most important emerging tests for disease, such as infectious disease speciation and antibiotic-resistance profiling, will need to interrogate samples for many dozens of biomarkers. Electronic readout of large panels of markers has been hampered by the difficulty of addressing large arrays of electrode-based sensors on inexpensive platforms. Here we report a new concept--solution-based circuits formed on chip--that makes highly multiplexed electrochemical sensing feasible on passive chips.

Optimized templates for bottom-up growth of high-performance integrated biomolecular detectors.

Electrochemical deposition of metals represents an important approach in the bottom-up fabrication of nanostructures and microstructures. We have used this approach to generate high-performance chip-based biosensors using silicon as a platform for the generation of sensor arrays. Here, we explore the applicability of different materials to support the electrodeposition and identify the parameters that are essential for robust sensor growth.

Managing resources in NHS dentistry: using health economics to inform commissioning decisions.

Background: The aim of this study is to develop, apply and evaluate an economics-based framework to assist commissioners in their management of finite resources for local dental services. In April 2006, Primary Care Trusts in England were charged with managing finite dental budgets for the first time, yet several independent reports have since criticised the variability in commissioning skills within these organisations. The study will explore the views of stakeholders (dentists, patients and commissioners) regarding priority setting and the criteria used for decision-making and resource allocation.

Commissioning NHS dentistry in England: issues for decision-makers managing the new contract with finite resources.

Objectives: To explore the views of dental decision-makers in Primary Care Organisations with regard to the management of NHS dental services, and to gauge participants' awareness of economics-based approaches including programme budgeting and marginal analysis, with which to potentially structure commissioning decisions.

Methods: Recorded semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 NHS dental decision-makers (mixed clinical and finance backgrounds) predominantly across Primary Care Trusts in England. Data were analysed using qualitative methods and the constant comparative approach.